In A Bind
by transmutejun
Summary: A ficlet inspired by one of Chickeebaybee's fabulous pictures! Ken finds himself in a bind...


Ken groaned softly as he came around. It was dark, and he was unable to see where he was. His head was pounding, and it felt as if hot needles were pricking the back of his eyelids. He reached up to rub at them with his fists…

Only he couldn't move his arms.

He was lying on his back with his wrists beneath his body. Judging by the way they felt when he tried to pull his hands free, his arms were tied together.

What the hell was going on?

Desperately, Ken tried to force the dense fog from his mind. How had he…?

"I see that you're awake." purred an unfamiliar feminine voice. "Now we can get to know each other…"

"Huh?"

Ken wished he could say something more coherent, but right now his mind didn't seem to be working with its usual efficiency. Fortunately, the woman speaking to him seemed to understand his quandary.

"Surely you remember me, Ken." the voice said in a soft, soothing tone. "I'm Natasha. We met at that bar… the Snack J."

An image of a sensual woman with blue-tinted hair rose up in Ken's mind. He had vague recollections of her heavy perfume clogging his nostrils as she had leaned in close to him at the bar. She had come on strong… very strong. Ken had pushed her away, but she hadn't gotten the message.

"Yes…"

He groaned again, moving slowly, attempting to play for time until he could determine what exactly was going on.

"That girl at the bar was being awfully possessive of you." Natasha murmured slyly. "But I got rid of her. And now we're alone…"

A shadowy form came out of the darkness, moving toward him. Cool fingers with long nails brushed by his cheek, scratching him lightly.

"I think you're entirely too overdressed for this occasion, Ken."

The fingers moved downward, sliding across his chest, pulling at his shirt buttons. His skin was exposed to the cool air, and he shivered.

"I'm enjoying it too, Ken." Natasha smirked. "I knew that if I got you alone, that we could come to an understanding…" Her hands moved away, reaching up toward her hair. Ken squinted, attempting to see what was going on. Natasha's fingers slid behind her ears, and with a sharp tug, the woman pulled at the sides of her cheeks.

Ken gasped as her visage fell away, and in his horror it took him a moment to realize that it was not her face that had come off, but a mask. Even in the near-darkness, he recognized that mask.

Devilstar…

It was all the impetus he needed. He rolled around, attempting to break free of whatever was holding him in place. But his arms and legs were completely immobilized, and he found himself unable to do anything but roll slightly onto his side.

"No, Ken…" Natasha purred. "Not yet. There's too much I have planned for you…"

Ken came back down heavily, instinctively managing to twist his arm just enough to place heavy pressure on his left wrist, sending out a brief Birdscramble. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to bang his arm again, so all he could do was hope that his momentary signal had been received by someone.

But Gatchaman wasn't just about to sit back and wait for help. Ken grunted, pulling his legs up sharply and attempting to flip over.

All he managed to do was strain his muscles, as the bonds restraining him tore into the flesh of his stomach and refused to give.

"Shhh… Ken… let me show you what I have in mind."

Undeterred by his struggles, Natasha settled herself next to him on the floor, bending over until he could feel her hot breath on his face. Her lips pressed down upon his, her tongue snaking into his mouth.

Ken bit down as hard as he could, grimacing as he tasted the salty metallic tang of fresh blood. Natasha screeched, pulling away rapidly, her hand to her lips.

"Bastard!" she spat, wiping at her mouth before slapping Ken in the face so hard his teeth scraped against the inside of his cheek. He felt blood tricking down his chin, but didn't know if it was his, or hers.

"It's too bad." Natsahsa whined. "I could think of much better uses for your mouth. But if you insist…" Ken felt his upper body being yanked roughly upward as she pulled on his hair, then wrapped something around the bottom of his head. As he felt the stiff material being forced into his mouth, he knew that he had been gagged.

Not that it made much difference. His biggest problems had nothing to do with his ability to speak, or not. Being unable to access his Bird Rang, not being in his civilian uniform… these were much bigger concerns.

He shifted his body again, this time attempting to determine if there was any give to his bonds that might allow him to slip free. But there was nothing. This Devilstar, whoever she was, had done her work well.

"Ken…" she sighed breathily, sliding her hands up and down his bare chest, her mouth following her fingers across his skin. He recoiled from her touch, but given his current position, this didn't do much to repel her. To his horror, Ken felt Natasha's hands playing with the fly of his jeans.

"And what do we have here?" she cooed, unsnapping his waistband.

"No…" Ken grunted, the word barely comprehensible behind his gag. His hips bucked as she trailed her fingernails along the inside of his denim-clad thighs, and then across his groin.

"This will never do…" she tsked. "You need more _motivation_, Ken…"

Ken thrashed again, but all he managed to do was rise up off of the floor for a brief moment, which only pushed his body into Natasha's grasping hands.

"_Exactly_ what I was thinking…" she giggled. Her mouth moved up to his chest, her lips and tongue moving across his straining flesh while her right hand pulled down the zipper on his jeans…

A loud crashing sound caused Ken's head to spin around, and he blinked in confusion, his pupils shrinking rapidly at the bright light now spilling into the chamber. The door was half off of its hinges, soft curls of smoke rising up into the air around the blackened area that had apparently been the portal's locking mechanism.

A long shadow cast its way across the rectangle of illumination provided by the light spilling in through the open doorway. Ken caught an image of slim, supple legs topped by stiff wings; one hand resting on a shapely hip, the other angrily raised in the air.

"Get off of him." the Swan demanded threateningly.

"Or what?" Natasha laughed, not in the least discommoded by the other woman's appearance. "Are you going to attack me over this tasty piece of flesh? There's plenty to share, Honey."

"I _don't_ share." the Swan growled.

A red and yellow yo-yo streaked out to slash at Natasha's face and wrap around her neck. Before the Devilstar could even rise to her feet, an electric charge raced down the wire, causing the Galactor woman to thrash uncontrollable before collapsing on top of Ken's body.

The Eagle's eyes widened and he found himself gasping for air behind his gag as Natasha's blackened face fell onto his chest.

"Galactor trash." Jun spat, pushing the woman's charred body off of the Eagle with the heel of her boot. "I knew she was trouble the moment she tried to get her hooks into you. But when I turned my back for a moment, both of you disappeared. At least you had the sense to send out a Birdscramble."

The Swan knelt down, reaching gently behind Ken's head and untying the gag. Once it was free, she tossed it aside.

"Are you okay?" she asked the Eagle.

"Yes." Ken replied, relief flooding through him. "I'm feeling somewhat strange, but…"

"She drugged you." Jun said simply. "I could tell from your behavior at the J. Joe said I was just being jealous…"

She stopped suddenly, as if she had said too much. Her emerald eyes assessed Ken's face, as if searching for an answer. After a moment, her soft lips curled into an inviting smile.

"I suppose this situation isn't a total loss…" she murmured, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

"What…?" Ken found himself unceremoniously hoisted onto the Swan's shoulder as she carried him out of the room and to her waiting yellow motorcycle.

"It won't be too long." Jun smiled saucily, squeezing his backside before throwing her leg over the motorcycle seat. "I promise to take good care of you, Ken."

And despite the similarity of the situation to the one he had only recently been extricated from, the Eagle found that he wasn't worried at all.


End file.
